--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Through this atmosphere of torrid…" description: "\"Through this atmosphere of torrid splendor moved wan beings as richly upholstered as the furniture, beings without definite pursuits or permanent relat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/edith-wharton-512_atmosphere_through-this-atmosphere-of-torrid-splend_3160757.png" --- # Through this atmosphere of torrid splendor moved wan… ![“Through this atmosphere of torrid splendor moved wan beings as richly upholstered as the furniture, beings without definite pursuits or permanent relations, who drifted on a languid tide of curiosity... Somewhere behind them, in the background of their lives there was doubtless a real past, yet…” quote by Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/edith-wharton-512_atmosphere_through-this-atmosphere-of-torrid-splend_3160757.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/edith-wharton-512_atmosphere_through-this-atmosphere-of-torrid-splend_3160757.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/870/edith-wharton-512_atmosphere_through-this-atmosphere-of-torrid-splend_3160757.png) > “Through this atmosphere of torrid splendor moved wan beings as richly upholstered as the furniture, beings without definite pursuits or permanent relations, who drifted on a languid tide of curiosity... Somewhere behind them, in the background of their lives there was doubtless a real past, yet they had no more real existence than the poet's shades in limbo.” [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Characters drift aimlessly, lacking purpose, existing like shadows with a vague past but no meaningful present. **In simple terms:** People without purpose are like ghostly shadows. Key Takeaway Seek purpose beyond idle existence. Themes existentialism society identity Mood melancholic contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - literary analysis - personal reflection - creative writing Key Concepts meaninglessness social ennui Questions to Reflect On - What gives life meaning? - How to break free from passive existence? A Different Perspective Aimless drifting can mask deeper existential dread. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atmosphere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atmosphere/) [Backgrounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backgrounds/) [Behinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behinds/) [Curiosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity/) [Drifted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drifted/) [Drifted Languid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drifted-languid-5712444/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Furniture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/furniture/) [Furniture Beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/furniture-beings-5712446/) [Limbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limbo/) [Moved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moved/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Pursuit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursuit/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Relation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relation/) [Relations Drifted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relations-drifted-5712447/) [Shade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shade/) [Splendor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/splendor/) [Splendor Moved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/splendor-moved-5712445/) [Tides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tides/) ## Related quotes > [I went to film school at Columbia and did that for a couple years, and really thought I was going to be a filmmaker,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adsit/i-went-to-film-school-at-columbia-and-did-that-for-a-couple-years-and/) [Scott Adsit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adsit/) > [I started out as Snow White, but then I drifted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-west/i-started-out-as-snow-white-but-then-i-drifted/) [Mae West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-west/) > [Africa, and Zambia in particular, drifted away from the West for a long time, and we have to reconcile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-sata/africa-and-zambia-in-particular-drifted-away-from-the-west-for-a-long/) [Michael Sata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-sata/) > [My friend, why have you drifted so far away? All motion is relative, maybe it is you who have moved away by standing still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-friend-why-have-you-drifted-so-far-away-all-motion-is-relative/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Dr. Kaunda, although he was running a one-party state, was very close to the West, and that is why he achieved as much as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-sata/dr-kaunda-although-he-was-running-a-one-party-state-was-very-close-to/) [Michael Sata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-sata/) > [Unfortunately, I think I drifted so much growing up that I don't have a strong sense of identity. I don't feel at home anywhere,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-zhao/unfortunately-i-think-i-drifted-so-much-growing-up-that-i-don-t-have/) [Chloe Zhao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-zhao/) > [As the years went by, they drifted apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-the-years-went-by-they-drifted-apart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“This one walked with soft feet like she'd drifted in from the next world and no one had the good sense to send her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/this-one-walked-with-soft-feet-like-she-d-drifted-in-from-the-next/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [Until 1954, I'd only ever thought of being a painter, but I earned my money when and where I could. You could say I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/until-1954-i-d-only-ever-thought-of-being-a-painter-but-i-earned-my/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [“she drifted unresisting, into the arms of Morpheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-ellis/she-drifted-unresisting-into-the-arms-of-morpheus/) [Joy Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-ellis/) > [We lost the skyline We stepped right off the map Drifted into black space And let the clocks relapse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wilson/we-lost-the-skyline-we-stepped-right-off-the-map-drifted-into-black/) [Steven Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wilson/) > [The day when I left Barca, because of the treatment I was receiving and my character, it didn't go as I would have wished.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-valdes/the-day-when-i-left-barca-because-of-the-treatment-i-was-receiving/) [Victor Valdes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-valdes/) > [5 drifted up over the lake , through my body and over my face , it knew I was alone , I am feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-navaal/5-drifted-up-over-the-lake-through-my-body-and-over-my-face-it-knew-i/) [Mohamed Navaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-navaal/) > [A waft of sweet hash drifted by, and I wanted to float after it like Wimpy levitating at the scent of a hamburger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/a-waft-of-sweet-hash-drifted-by-and-i-wanted-to-float-after-it-like/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [“LUCAS AND HARMON drifted toward the”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sandford/lucas-and-harmon-drifted-toward-the/) [John Sandford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sandford/) ## More by Edith Wharton > [“Suddenly the air was full of that deep clangor of bells which periodically covers Rome with a roof of silver.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/suddenly-the-air-was-full-of-that-deep-clangor-of-bells-which/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“Untrained human nature was not frank and innocent; it was full of the twists and defences of an instinctive guile. And he felt himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/untrained-human-nature-was-not-frank-and-innocent-it-was-full-of-the/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“High Pasture Come up--come up: in the dim vale below The autumn mist muffles the fading trees, But on this keen hill-pasture, though the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/high-pasture-come-up-come-up-in-the-dim-vale-below-the-autumn-mist/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“Two ways to be a light for all, is to be a flaming candle or the mirror that reflects it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/two-ways-to-be-a-light-for-all-is-to-be-a-flaming-candle-or-the/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“... no treasure-house of Atreus was ever as rich as a well-stored memory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/no-treasure-house-of-atreus-was-ever-as-rich-as-a-well-stored-memory/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“...the endless labour of rolling human stupidity up the steep hill of understanding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-endless-labour-of-rolling-human-stupidity-up-the-steep-hill-of/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material and social interests held together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/he-saw-his-marriage-becoming-what-most-of-the-other-marriages-about/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [The real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/the-real-loneliness-is-living-among-all-these-kind-people-who-only/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [With a shiver of foreboding he saw his marriage becoming what most of the other marriages about him were: a dull association of material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/with-a-shiver-of-foreboding-he-saw-his-marriage-becoming-what-most-of/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Life is the saddest thing there is, next to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/life-is-the-saddest-thing-there-is-next-to-death/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [A classic is classic not because it conforms to certain structural rules, or fits certain definitions (of which its author had quite probably never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/a-classic-is-classic-not-because-it-conforms-to-certain-structural/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [There is too much sour grapes for my taste in the present American attitude. The time to denounce the bankers was when we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/there-is-too-much-sour-grapes-for-my-taste-in-the-present-american/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“But in a few years more perhaps there may be; for, deep within us as the ghost instinct lurks, I seem to see it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/but-in-a-few-years-more-perhaps-there-may-be-for-deep-within-us-as/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Dialogue in fiction should be reserved for the culminating moments and regarded as the spray into which the great wave of narrative breaks in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/dialogue-in-fiction-should-be-reserved-for-the-culminating-moments/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [“These Americans, under their forthcoming manner, their surface-gush, as some might call it, have an odd reticence about what goes on underneath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/these-americans-under-their-forthcoming-manner-their-surface-gush-as/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) [Explore all 504 Edith Wharton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) ## More Atmosphere quotes > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/man-will-not-always-stay-on-earth-the-pursuit-of-light-and-space-will/) [Konstantin Tsiolkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/) > [Pause before you get home and prepare your heart. A peaceful heart leads to a peaceful atmosphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-burns/pause-before-you-get-home-and-prepare-your-heart-a-peaceful-heart/) [Jim Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-burns/) > [Sometimes a minute is really the difference between success and failure. There are times when you finish with ten seconds left, and one extra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-symon/sometimes-a-minute-is-really-the-difference-between-success-and/) [Michael Symon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-symon/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“Atmosphere" is a massive song. A lot of people say it's their favorite Joy Division song, but it's not mine; it reminds me too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hook/atmosphere-is-a-massive-song-a-lot-of-people-say-it-s-their-favorite/) [Peter Hook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hook/) > [Establish an atmosphere that energizes you. Some creative people flourish in confusion; others need to be free from interruption. Many prepare themselves for work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-leland/establish-an-atmosphere-that-energizes-you-some-creative-people/) [Nita Leland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-leland/) > [Each year we pump at least six billion tons of heat-trapping carbon into the innermost layer of our atmosphere, whose outer extent is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-gelbspan/each-year-we-pump-at-least-six-billion-tons-of-heat-trapping-carbon/) [Ross Gelbspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-gelbspan/) > [It was clear to me that the White House's solemn atmosphere would not civilize Trump. But the merciless nepotism with which he conducts politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/it-was-clear-to-me-that-the-white-house-s-solemn-atmosphere-would-not/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [“Bjerknes had come up with equations capable of describing the behavior of the atmosphere. The state of the atmosphere at any point could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-cullen/bjerknes-had-come-up-with-equations-capable-of-describing-the/) [Heidi Cullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-cullen/) > [What one thing does the world need most today-apart, that is, from the all-inclusive thing we call righteousness? Aren't you inclined to agree that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/what-one-thing-does-the-world-need-most-today-apart-that-is-from-the/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [ Jowett, in his day, did probably more than any other single man to let some fresh air into the exhausted atmosphere of the \[Oxford\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-jowett/jowett-in-his-day-did-probably-more-than-any-other-single-man-to-let/) [Benjamin Jowett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-jowett/) [Browse all 1,572 Atmosphere quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atmosphere/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Through this atmosphere of torrid splendor moved wan beings as richly upholstered as the furniture, beings without definite pursuits or permanent relations, who drifted on a languid tide of curiosity... 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